Blog 105 – Trust Yourself, Plan and Engage

Thinking about what is most important is hard. It’s not something you want to be ruminating on throughout the day, that will just wear you out mentally.

The best practice, when dealing with difficult things, is to set aside a specific amount of time each day to think it through, plan, and make decisions. Then the rest of the day you are free of worry and/or second guessing, and can simply immerse into the commitments you already decided upon.

If you start to ruminate or second guess during the day simply tell youself, I have set aside time to think about this and will do so then. Then get back on task with what you have already commited to. The part of the mind that generates anxiety will chill out as long as you have a plan.

We recommended thinking through what is most important and making your list first thing in the morning when your mind is rested. I have found that insights oten emerge in dreams I experience just before waking. The mind works on problems and questions while we sleep. This is why checking in at night with our list from the morning is so important. It’s not necessarily about holding ourselves accountable, but rather a tactic before sleep to prime and engage the subconcious mind as a resource to serve our goals; and, prepare ourselves for a possible morning epiphany.

I think the habit of setting aside specific times to think about and deal with heavy duty things in life is a good tactic for managing complexity, coping with difficult situations, and habitually thinking through what is most important for this day. Otherwise we can become overwhelmed and bogged down.

So, commit to your daily time of reflection and planning, and then immerse youself in what you have decided to do. Very freeing! No worries, because you will be checking in tonight and can re-evaluate tomorrow morning. Just work today’s commitments with abandon.